Similar Stories

Wreck

I was just wondering what people's opinion's of the following two stories are, the first reported on boards on 15th September 2008 and the second from the Herald on the 22nd September.

RentDayBlues wrote:

Taxi Driver - Incident in Terenure
Ladies, warning for you all, please be careful:

Girl tried to hail a taxi outside Brady's in Terenure on Saturday 13th September - taxi pulled up and it was been driven by a foregin national. He insisted that the girl get into the front of the car and she refused a number of times, thought he was just being silly. As she went to open the back door of the taxi she saw another guy lying on the back seat hiding. Luckily she managed to run at that point and get help.

- full thread in the Ladies Lounge here

The Herald wrote:

Man lay on floor of taxi in kidnap bid
PROBE: Terrified woman fled to city pub screaming after incident
By Geraldine Gittens


Monday September 22 2008

Gardai are investigating an alleged assault by a taxi driver on a woman in Dublin.

The incident was brought to the attention of the gardai after a woman ran into a pub in Terenure screaming for help last Tuesday morning.

Alarmed drinkers in the pub rang the gardai as soon as they saw the woman's distress.

According to sources, the woman had been out on the road hailing a taxi when one pulled up, and the driver asked her to get into the passenger seat.

However, when the women refused, the driver proceeded to open the passenger door and tell the woman to sit in the front, it has been alleged.

When the woman opened the back door to get in the back she found a man lying on the floor waiting for her to get into the front, sources say.

"We're investigating an alleged assault in Harold's Cross and Terenure at 1.30am in the morning of Tuesday September 16," a Garda spokesperson said.

Investigation

Meanwhile, the Taxi Regulator said it is unaware of the incident.

"Anything deemed a criminal offence would be dealt with by the gardai," says Justin Bowers, a spokesman for the organisation.

"The Commission doesn't break down the complaints we receive, we only break them down in relation to fares," he added.

While the Commission says that they deal with drivers conduct, they do not deal with cases such as the alleged attack on Monday night.

"We are constantly advising people on their own personal safety, particularly women," says the Garda spokesperson.

"Any crime would be taken seriously as far as we're concerned."

Taxi drivers are vetted by the gardai before they are awarded their taxi licence and allowed to operate.

In order for an applicant to obtain a taxi license, the Taxi Regulator says that the person must "satisfy An Garda Síochána that he/she is a fit and proper person to hold such a licence".

- Geraldine Gittens

- Link to story - Link to AH thread


I'm posting this because the two stories are obviously similar, and also resemble a fairly common urban legend. I think the dates are also pretty interesting. The original thread in the Ladies Lounge was posted on the Monday afternoon, while the Herald reports that the incident took place early on the Tuesday morning.

santosubito

I saw that in the Herald and was immediately skeptical. I note that the Garda Press Office hasn't, for example, issued any appeal for witnesses. I thought it was an urban myth myself.*
But I also note that the Herald story has a quote from a Garda spokesperson saying an investigation is underway.
Strange.

*There's another one floating around, about a girl on holiday in Amsterdam who kisses a fella and gets cold sores. She goes to the doctor, blah blah blah blah...serial killerv had hidden corpses in his apartment. Load of bollox.